Dangerous Game
by Kiteria
Summary: Taylor isn't what one would expect when they hear the word princess. She has the elegance, grace, and regality that comes with being a princess, but she is vulgar, quick tempered, and not afraid to fight. She cares for her people, but she also has an insatiable curiosity about life at sea. What will she do when given a chance to leave? Will she become a pirate or will she stay?
1. Chapter 1

Kiteria: Heyo guys. This is my first ever One Piece fanfic and I hope I did okay. I'm gonna try to write this in third person, so please let me know what you guys think.

* * *

The sun was setting on the well known mining island in the East Blue. The light making shadows dance along the walls of a beautiful castle that sat above the village full of people. It's high, cobblestone walls seemed to be endless as it stretched around the castle, keeping the royals within separate from the people living on the island. Past the barrier that was the high wall stood a grand and unmistakably beautiful castle with high towers and painted glass for windows, a grand courtyard in the middle filled with blooming trees and a garden full of blooming flowers swaying gently in the breeze. The castle looked like it had come straight out of a fairy tale and was the envy of many other islands. It was a place most would love to live in and would die trying to get in, but there was one who was dying to get out.

The wind blew around a figure as they scaled the outer wall of the castle, threatening to blow them right off the wall, but they held fast. Years of having climbed the wall coming in handy as they lifted myself over the edge of the wall, swinging their legs over the other side and smiling as they glanced back over their shoulder at the castle that was their prison before pushing off and falling towards the ground, landing lightly on their feet with a soft thud. The figure was about to head off into the village when a voice called to them from above.

"Princess, don't forget her Majesty expects you for dinner in a few hours."

The figure sighed as they looked back up the wall they had just jumped down from, their hood falling back to reveal their face.

"Cassie!"

The young princess whisper-yelled up at her friend and maidservant of many years.

"She will also expect you to be dressed properly this time."

Cassie said and the princess sighed at her friend's comment and her mother's request.

"Alright, alright. I'll be back before mother knows I was gone."

The princess said as she pulled her hood back up to hide her scarlet colored hair and emerald eyes before she started to walk away.

"And be in the proper dress, right!? Princess Taylor!"

Cassie called, but the princess ignored her as she ran down the hill towards the village to see how her people were doing.

Taylor walked amongst her people before slipping into an alleyway after making sure no one was watching her. She pulled off the cloak that was hiding the fancy, elegant dress she had been forced into, scowling at the horrid color her mother had picked for her to wear. She reached behind a dumpster and pulled out a bag full of clothes that she had hidden there for when she snuck out of the castle. Taylor shed her fancy clothes and replaced them with those of a commoner. Brown pants that hugged her hips, a black corset-like top that she'd altered herself so that it stopped just below her bust, leaving her midriff exposed, and the sleeves started after her shoulders and stopped just before her wrists.

She grabbed the hair tie from her wrist and pulled her hair over to one side before braiding it to keep it out of the way and to help disguise who she was. She finished the outfit by pulling on a pair of black boots that went halfway up her calves with the pants tucked in them before shoving her royal clothes into the bag and hid it back behind the dumpster, then stepping out of the alleyway and easily blending into the crowd of people milling around the streets.

* * *

"Alright, we'll stop here for supplies!"

Ace heard Vista's voice call out over the ship as it came to a stop at the docks of the island in front of us. He walked out of his room and looked around deck before walking over to the railing of the ship to get a better look at the island they'd just docked at.

"What island is this?"

Ace asked Marco as he saw him pass, making him pause.

"I think it's called Ruby Mines Island."

Marco said before walking off to wherever he had been before Ace had stopped him.

His curiosity about the island kept rising until he jumped over the railing and landed lightly on the docks. The best way to satisfy his curiosity would be to take a look around. Besides, he had a feeling that they'd be here for a while, so where was the harm in taking a look around?

As he walked around the village Ace couldn't help but notice it seemed rather poor considering the name of the island. He passed by a shop and saw their selection was rather small, but the quality was good. Even he could tell that much.

He was just about to walk on when he heard something behind him and turned to see a bunch of kids arguing in the middle of the street while people just ignored them and kept walking. He watched as about four boys ganged up on a girl who was clutching something small to her chest.

"Come on Koneko, let us have it!"

One of the boys yelled as he and the others surrounded the girl on all sides and started to move in. Ace frowned when he noticed the ragged appearance of all the kids, but the girl was the worst of all of them. Covered in dirt, her dress torn and holes in odd places. Her shoes almost gone and her skin and hair was covered in dirt. He narrowed his eyes when he saw the boy who had yelled earlier reach out towards the girl, about to take whatever it was she was clutching to her chest from her when a hand shot out and grabbed his wrist.

Ace followed the hand, along with the boys, up an arm to the face of a scarlet haired woman who had a slight frown on her pink lips. He blinked in surprise at the fact he hadn't even noticed when she'd shown up but couldn't say he wasn't glad she had or he'd have gotten involved. He watched as she released the little boy and started to scold him, her hands on her hips.

"You should feel ashamed of yourself, trying to take something from a girl like that! And what makes you all think it's okay to gang up on her! She could have gotten hurt!"

The woman said, and even though she wasn't really yelling at them, all four of the boys shrunk back at having been scolded.

"Now apologize to her."

The woman said, standing upright behind the little girl who was looking down at her feet, still clutching whatever she had in her hands to her chest.

When none of the boys moved to do as she had said, the scarlet haired girl frowned and narrowed her eyes at them.

"Now!"

She snapped and they all snapped to attention at the authority in her voice before stumbling over each other trying to apologize to the little girl who was looking at them with wide eyes.

"Good, now get going before I tell your parents."

The woman said and the boys all looked at her with frightened looks before scrambling off. Ace thought that would have been that and the woman would have walked off, but he was proven wrong when she crouched down next to the little girl and brushed her dirty brown hair out of her face, making some dirt fall to the ground.

"Are you okay sweetie?"

She asked, her voice surprisingly soft compared to earlier and Ace saw the girl look up at her in wonder.

"Y-Yes ma'am."

She said in a small voice.

"Can we have a look-see at what you were guarding so much?"

The woman asked with a soft smile and he couldn't believe it when the little girl hesitated slightly before nodding her head and holding her hands out to show a small loaf of bread that had gotten a little squished and dirty from the little girl's hold.

"You must be really hungry."

The woman said and saw the little girl pull the bread back to her chest as if she was afraid it would be taken away.

"It's okay sweetie, I won't take it from you. In fact, here."

The woman said as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a little bag that Ace heard jingle as she passed it to the little girl.

"Why don't you go over to the bakery and buy something for you and your whole family? Just be sure to get home before anyone stops you."

The woman said and the little girl smiled widely before attacking her in a hug and running off.

Ace heard the woman laugh slightly as she straightened back up to her full height and looked back at her. He took in her appearance now that he wasn't distracted by her scolding those boys or helping the little girl. Her scarlet hair was pulled back into a long braid down the middle of her back and stood out from her fair skin. Her black, corset-like top showed ample amount of cleavage without showing too much and left her stomach and shoulders exposed as the sleeves went down to her wrists. Her brown pants hugged her hips before disappearing into a pair of calf-high black boots. Ace's gaze lifted to her face and took in her pink lips, small button-like nose, and finally her defiant, emerald green eyes. She certainly was a beauty to behold, but as he looked at her he couldn't help but think she seemed a little out of place amongst all the other people walking around them. It wasn't until he saw her turn and start to walk away that he realized why. There was an air of regality about her and the way she moved was so graceful that it almost seemed like she was dancing instead of walking.

Ace shook his head when he realized he was focusing too much on her and decided to check out the rest of the island while the crew finished getting supplies. But even as he walked away he couldn't help but wonder just who that scarlet haired woman was.


	2. Chapter 2

Kiteria: Heyo guys, i'm back again. This chapter is actually thanks to two people I've become friends with on here. Princess LaLaBlue and HikariNoTenshi-Crystal both of which have amazing stories you all should check out. A big shout out to them before getting into the story.

* * *

Taylor walked through the crowds of people that littered the street and smiled sadly as she saw they were only doing a little bit better than the last time she'd left the castle. She didn't understand why her father didn't come out and walk with his people like he used to. The last time she remembered him doing it was when she was five, then he just stopped.

She stopped and looked up at the sky, sighing as she saw the moon slowly moving towards the middle of the sky. She'd have to be back at the castle before too long, but she intended to enjoy myself before having to go back to that prison.

"Come on now! You can do better than that can't ya lad!?"

A voice called from within a pub a few feet away from her and as she listened to the laughter and chatter coming from within it's walls she found herself drawn to it for a reason even she didn't understand.

* * *

Ace smiled as he watched Marco and the rest of the crew drink merrily and go on about this or that. He would smile when any of them looked his way, and drink whenever a drink was put infront of him, but for some reason his heart just wasn't in it.

"What's wrong with me?"

He wondered aloud to himself, then wondered if any of his crewmates had heard him, but quickly realized his self-asked question had been drowned out by their laughter at something that was said.

He sighed as he drained the last of his beer, then leaned back against the hard wood of the chair he was sitting in. Even as he listened to his fellow crewmates and friends talk and laugh, he still couldn't seem to get the same feeling of joy as they did and it bothered him slightly. He was starting to wonder if maybe he was getting sick when he heard the door of the pub open, followed by light, almost inaudible footsteps as someone walked in.

"Oi, get a look at her."

One of the crew said and Ace turned to see who they were talking about, noticing as he did so that everyone else was doing the same, and felt his eyes widen when he saw the scarlet haired woman from before.

_What's she _doing _here?_

He wondered as he watched her walk through the throng of people in the pub and sit down at one of the vacant seats at the bar. His eyes watched her as she ordered a drink from the bartender and drummed her fingers against the top of the counter.

"Wow."

He whispered to himself as the bartender came back with her drink and she downed it in one go, she didn't even make a face at the taste and he could tell it wasn't a weak drink from the look the bartender gave her when he'd handed it to her.

"Someone should go up and talk to he-"

A crewmate said, but stopped mid-sentence as a guy from the other side of the bar moved to sit beside her and started hitting on her.

Ace and the others watched to see how the scarlet haired woman would react. They weren't expecting her to lean towards the man so that their faces were merely inches apart before poking him in the forehead and making him fall out of his seat, resulting in laughter erupting throughout the pub.

"Thanks but no thanks slim."

The woman said and Ace felt a shudder go through him at the sound of her voice. It was different from when she'd scolded those kids earlier and when she'd spoken to that little girl. Now it was soft, but rough at the same time...like velvet.

* * *

Taylor sighed as she heard the man that had tried hitting on her get to his feet.

"Look here girlie..."

He said, standing behind her trying to intimidate her. She simply turned slowly in her seat and leveling him with a dangerous glint in her emerald eyes.

"No, you look."

She said cutting him off before he could say anything else and it was only then that he seemed to notice the sword pressed against his throat.

"I don't appreciate you bugging me when all I'm trying to do is enjoy myself before taking my leave. Now get lost before I decide to turn you into a unic or something."

She said threateningly, moving the sword with a flick of her wrist so that it was pointing right at his crotch.

Without a word the man's eyes widened and he quickly turned tail and ran out of the pub. Taylor sighed before sheathing her sword and turning back to her drink.

"Must you always chase away my customers Taylor?"

The bartender asked in a mock-scolding tone, though the smirk on his face killed his intent of making her feel bad.

"Sorry Gabe, but when they try to eyefuck me what am I suppose to do, just sit here and let them do it?"

She asked as she downed her drink that Gabe had been kind enough to refill, smirking at the frown on the older man's face.

"You're rather vulgar for a princ-"

Gabe started to say, but Taylor suddenly lurched across the bar and slapped her hand over his mouth before he could say anymore.

"Gabe!"

She hissed in a sharp whisper, eyes staring at him incredulously.

"Hehe, sorry Taylor."

He said once Taylor had removed her hand and sat back down.

"Whatever, I'm leaving."

She said before placing some money on the counter and getting to her feet.

"Be safe on your way _home_! I wouldn't want anything to happen to someone as _precious_ as you!"

Gabe called out teasingly after her and laughed when he saw her shoulders tense and heard her curse under her breath as she walked out the door.

"How you were born a member of that family is beyond me Taylor."

Gabe said to himself as he went back to cleaning glasses, not noticing a certain black haired man in just shorts slipping away from his crew and out the door after Taylor.


End file.
